Authors

Abstract

Introduction

The week seemed to fly by and before I knew it I was walking up to Myron’s front door. I took a deep breath and knocked. The door opened a few moments later and there stood the strange little man who I have started to become so fond of.

“Good morning Robert. Have you come with a vision, or are you still flying blind?” He let out one of those great pirate laughs and then motioned for me to come in as we both made ourselves comfortable in our respective seats.

“I’ve been working very diligently on my vision and am looking forward to discussing it with you,” I said with some degree of pride.

“So, you’ve decided what you want and what your vision is, but are you passionate about it?” He reached over to the teapot sitting next to him and began to pour the tea into two cups, passing one to me.

“Yes and yes,” I chimed in like a kid winning a spelling bee. “What’s weird is how much work it took to get clear on what I really wanted. Even though I have projections and goals for my company, I realized that on a personal level I was pretty much reacting to life as opposed to it responding to me.”

“Excellent observation,” Myron said as he took a sip of tea and pondered for a moment as if deciding whether or not the flavor suited him. “Over the years I have had the privilege of speaking to many business leaders and inevitably many of them acknowledged the same situation and consequently agreed that they were unsatisfied and unfulfilled even though they were financially successful,” he raised a knowing eyebrow at me.

Wanting Myron to hurry up and review my vision for the future I eagerly responded, “Should I go ahead and show you what I’ve come up with?”

He let out another one of his pirate laughs and smiled, “Sure, on one condition.” He then looked me in the eye, “That you are willing to give up your life for what you want.”

“Give up my life? You never said anything about that!”

“Well of course not. I wanted you to think through what you wanted first. Now that you’ve done that, it’s time to put it in perspective. Remember when I said, ‘go big?’”

“But I never thought you were talking life and death big.”

“Well what did you think I was talking about? A big house, an expensive car, massive amounts of money? That’s not big in my book. Big is that which you are willing to give up your life for because that’s what you’re actually doing each day — giving up your life for what you want. Every day you spend working for something is a day of your life you’ve traded in the process.”

As Myron spoke, I sank lower and lower into his couch as if it were eating me for breakfast. Just when I think I understand what he’s talking about, he pulls the rug out from under my feet and I’m back to square one, but perhaps that’s just part of the learning process. As I was folding up my goals and putting them back in my pocket, Myron let out another hearty laugh.

“Robert my boy, don’t be discouraged. This ‘E’ ticket ride you’re on is guaranteed to take you places you didn’t even know existed and will change your life forever. You’ll not only know how to read the book, you’ll be able to write your own. The key to not being upset or discouraged is to not have any expectations as I’ve cautioned you about before. Eastern philosophy teaches that without expectations, you’re never upset, but we’ll discuss that more in depth next week.”

He walked over to one of the book shelves, combed the titles with his index finger and removed one. Holding it in his hand he turned to me and started walking back. “For now, I want you to upgrade your goals to what Earl Nightingale calls a ‘Worthy Ideal’ in his definition of success; Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal. Naturally, in order to do this, you have to have a Worthy Ideal which works as a compass in setting lesser goals. You do know who Earl Nightingale is, don’t you?”

“Of course, he’s the cofounder of the Nightingale-Conant Corporation. They publish all kinds of personal development materials.”

Myron sat back down in his chair and cleared his throat, “Now, what does Nightingale’s statement mean to you?”

“OK, well, let’s see, Progressive means the feeling of moving forward and getting closer to what you want. Realization is the act of bringing into concrete existence. Worthy is having some moral worth and/or deserving respect and ideal is an idea or image with heart, soul and passion — something of true worth or value.”

Myron slapped his hand on the side of his thigh and grinned widely, “Give that man a cupie doll! As you develop your Worthy Ideal, you’ll find that it will be driven by an unrelenting force and a passion that cannot be denied and will provide you with a level of inspiration like nothing you’ve ever experienced. By living according to your Worthy Ideal, your business will grow at a faster rate, your relationships will be strengthened and what you thought you wanted out of life will pale in comparison to your reality.”

He picked up an ornate piece of stationery, “Here are some clues that will assist you in developing your Worthy Ideal,” as he handed it to me. I began to read it.

Your Worthy Ideal is soaked with emotion, powered by passion, driven by destiny and forged with the fire of the heart.

You’ll know when you have discovered your Worthy Ideal (or heart’s desire) because you’ll feel it in your guts.

Your Worthy Ideal will inspire you to accomplish tasks well beyond what you have achieved in the past.

Your Worthy Ideal will afford you the opportunity to become more aware of your true nature.

No matter how difficult your challenges, your Worthy Ideal will provide you the encouragement to carry on.

A Worthy Ideal will have great spiritual value to the extent that you’ll be willing to trade your life for it.

I put the paper down and slowly looked up at Myron.

He started to rise, “Now before my couch totally consumes you, let’s call it a day.”

As I left Myron’s house that morning, a feeling of excitement mixed with wonder was surging throughout my entire being. I was beginning to feel something; a change. It wasn’t like anything I had ever experienced, yet it somehow felt strangely familiar, like something that I had once known but forgotten a long time ago.